The emergency operation centre (EOC) for polio in Sindh will launch a week-long, province-wide polio campaign on January 11, in observance of National Immunisation Day.
The campaign, which will continue till January 17, targets approximately nine million children under the age of five across 29 districts of Sindh. Of nine million children covered in the campaign, over two million are from Karachi. Besides, children between the age of six months and 59 months will be administered vitamin A drops during the campaign, so as to boost their immunity. Speaking about the campaign, an EOC for polio in Sindh spokesperson pointed out that an immunity gap had emerged among children in the aftermath of the suspension of polio vaccination and routine immunisation between March 2020 and July 2020 due to the pandemic.
“We have been addressing the gap by launching back-toback monthly polio campaigns since August 2020,” he said, adding that it was because of this initiative that not a single polio case was reported in Sindh since July 2020. He added, “If we continue the campaigns with the same momentum, we will soon see significant results. While we deal with the pandemic, we must also work towards immunising children against childhood diseases.” The EOC has assured that the campaign would be conducted in line with World Health Organisationrecommended Covid-19 prevention protocols.
As per these protocols, polio workers must wear masks and their temperatures should be checked before deployment. Besides, they are not to handle the children directly, or enter their houses, spend limited time with children’s families and use pens, rulers or elbows to knock on doors.
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